What does OSS (Operational Support Systems, aka Operations Support Systems) mean exactly? Or BSS (Business Support Systems) for that matter? Where do OSS/BSS intersect and/or overlap?
OSS is a term used to describe the information processing systems used by operators to manage their communications networks. Originally known as Telecommunication Network Management tools, these solutions are now so much more sophisticated. They allow an organisation to coordinate customers, services, resources, processes and activities. They assist operators to design, build, operate and maintain communications networks. Traditionally, OSS tended to provide network-facing or network-operations-facing functionality. This includes fault and performance management (assurance), customer activations (fulfillment), asset / inventory / configuration management, network security and so much more.
Business Support Systems (BSS) is the term traditionally used to describe the business and/or customer-facing functionality. These tools allow an organisation to connect with their customers (eg Customer Relationship Management or CRM), create offers for them (eg Products / Services), issue customers with bills (eg Billing and rating) as well as cross-carrier transactions (settlements, point-of-interconnect).
Together, OSS and BSS allow network operators to efficiently and reliably offer services to enormous numbers of subscribers on some of the world’s most complex machines, global telecommunications networks.
We’ve prepared the following playlist of videos to provide an introduction to OSS and BSS. This is a multi-part series that answers these introductory questions and others, including:
From the early days of telecommunications carriers (the companies that offered telecommunications services such as telephony), these activities were performed manually. With the advent of computers, carriers began to harness their processing power by developing applications to help them operate their vast networks and subscriber lists.
These early software applications had a narrow range of functionality. However, different business units within the carriers soon sought to improve efficiency and sharing data by integrating them. For example, a customer would place an order and their details would be stored in one system. The designers would then record the customer’s specific design configuration in another system and then this design would be implemented into the telephone exchange itself. In this case, the automatic sharing of information between systems is known as flow-through provisioning but requires significant integration effort.
A series of standards began to form around these applications so that there was consistency between applications. Some of them are described below so read on, or just click on a link to jump to the section most relevant to you.
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- What is Interconnection testing in telecom? …
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- Why do we use an Automated telecom testing solution?
What is Domain in Testing?
A domain is nothing but the industry for which the software testing project is created. When we talk about software project or development, this term is often referred. For example, the Insurance domain, Banking domain, Retail Domain, Telecom Domain, etc.
Usually while developing any specific domain project, domain expert help is sought out. Domain expert is master of the subject and he may know the inside-out of the product or application.
Why Testing Domain Knowledge Matters?
Domain knowledge is quintessential for testing any software product, and it has its own benefits like
Making your OSS decisions easier Search
What does OSS (Operational Support Systems, aka Operations Support Systems) mean exactly? Or BSS (Business Support Systems) for that matter? Where do OSS/BSS intersect and/or overlap?
OSS is a term used to describe the information processing systems used by operators to manage their communications networks. Originally known as Telecommunication Network Management tools, these solutions are now so much more sophisticated. They allow an organisation to coordinate customers, services, resources, processes and activities. They assist operators to design, build, operate and maintain communications networks. Traditionally, OSS tended to provide network-facing or network-operations-facing functionality. This includes fault and performance management (assurance), customer activations (fulfillment), asset / inventory / configuration management, network security and so much more.
Business Support Systems (BSS) is the term traditionally used to describe the business and/or customer-facing functionality. These tools allow an organisation to connect with their customers (eg Customer Relationship Management or CRM), create offers for them (eg Products / Services), issue customers with bills (eg Billing and rating) as well as cross-carrier transactions (settlements, point-of-interconnect).
Together, OSS and BSS allow network operators to efficiently and reliably offer services to enormous numbers of subscribers on some of the world’s most complex machines, global telecommunications networks.
We’ve prepared the following playlist of videos to provide an introduction to OSS and BSS. This is a multi-part series that answers these introductory questions and others, including:
Additional details are provided in the sections below.
From the early days of telecommunications carriers (the companies that offered telecommunications services such as telephony), these activities were performed manually. With the advent of computers, carriers began to harness their processing power by developing applications to help them operate their vast networks and subscriber lists.
These early software applications had a narrow range of functionality. However, different business units within the carriers soon sought to improve efficiency and sharing data by integrating them. For example, a customer would place an order and their details would be stored in one system. The designers would then record the customer’s specific design configuration in another system and then this design would be implemented into the telephone exchange itself. In this case, the automatic sharing of information between systems is known as flow-through provisioning but requires significant integration effort.
A series of standards began to form around these applications so that there was consistency between applications. Some of them are described below so read on, or just click on a link to jump to the section most relevant to you.
Business Processes in the Telecom Industry
For telecom testing end-to-end service verification is important. To ensure efficient testing a good understanding of the different Business process is a must.
You need to understand each stage of service deliverability before drafting the test cases.
Telecom services are either based on a business support system that includes IVR’s, Call Centers, generating invoices, etc. or an operation support system that includes routers, switches, cell towers, etc.
The following table shows what activities are performed at different levels
| Telecom Department | Telecom Activities |
|---|---|
| Pre-sales |
|
| Ordering |
|
| Provisioning |
|
| Billing |
|
| Service Assurance |
|
| Inventory Systems |
|
| Tracking |
|
FAQ
What is OSS and BSS testing?
What is OSS in telecom domain?
What is OSS software testing?
